Ping pong racket



lNvENToR BY W Minka' Patented June 5, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICEApplication October 18,

5 Claims.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a racket for theplaying of ping pong or other gaines, which will be light in weight,after the nature of the wooden rackets, now customarily employed, butfree of the objectionable warping and other faulty characteristics ofwooden rackets; also possessed ofthe desirable characteristics as tostiffness, flexibility and resiliency, durability, balance and handlingqualities.

These and other desirable objects are attained by the novel features ofconstruction, combinatic-ns and relations of parts hereinafter describedand claimed and illustrated in the aci companying drawing.

The drawing being primarily for purposes of disclosure, it will beunderstood that the structure illustrated may be modified and changed,all within the true intent and broad scope of the claims.

Figs. l and 2 in the drawing are face and edge views respectively of oneof the new rackets.

Fig. 3 is a broken enlarged vertical sectional View as on line 3-3 ofFig. 1.

Fig. l is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail showing particularlythe securing of the end of the binding strip.

In this invention, the blade or paddle portion 5 of the racket is madeof thin sheet metal, such las a tempered aluminum alloy stock and thisspring blade is given a degree of reinforcement across the widestportion of the same and adjoining its junction with the handle bysuitable reinforcement blades or strips, such as those designated 6 and7.

While the material used may vary, it has been found practical anddesirable to use relatively thin strips of bakelite, overlying theopposite faces of the paddle, shaped to follow the edges j of the bladeand extending up from the handle to a line at 8, adjacent the greatestwidth of the blade.

The handle is shown as made up in two parts 9, 10, of wood or the like,secured together by through bolts 11, over the intervening reducedhandle portion 12 of the blade.

The handle members 9, 10, are shown as recessed at 13, to receive and tover the reinforcement strips 6, 7 and the upper screw 11 is shown inFigs. 1 and 3 as also passing through these reinforcement strips.

The inner ends 14 of the handle members are shown as beveled down towardthe blade and the upper edges 15 of the reinforcement strips vare shownas similarly beveled in continuation 1932, serial No. 638,285 (ci.273-76) of the handle bevel to serve as convenient rests and grips forthe thumb and fingers at the front and back of the racket.

The active blade portion of the racket may be left uncovered or becovered, or treated in various ways.

In the illustration, the active blade portion is shown covered on eachside with a layer 16 of the rubber such as customarily used on Woodenrackets.

These facing layers may be adhesively or otherwise suitably secured. Toprotect the edges and hence prevent the facing material from grad-.ually tearing or peeling away from the blade, there is provided in theillustration, a narrow binding strip 17 of U-shaped cross section,gripped over the edge of the blade and having widened end portions 18,caught in under the reinforcement pieces and secured by the throughfastenings 19, which thus tie the end parts of the reinforcing stripstogether over the blade and to the ends of the binding strip, thuseffecting the unification and reinforcement of the entire structure. Thelower portions of the blade, where they curve inward to the handle, areindicated cut out at 20, to receive the back portions of the ends of thebinding strip and thus make this strip flush in a continuous extensionof the curving edges of the blade.

The facing material may be caught beneath the edges of the binding stripand the transverse reinforcements, but it has been found suflicient, forall practical purposes, simply to terminate the facings at these edgesas indicated at 2l, so that the binding strip and the reinforcementblades, in effect, cover the edges of these layers, preventing accessthereto of objects, such as would have the tendency of rubbing theselayers loose from the blade.

The construction disclosed is light, non-warping and though possessed ofcertain resiliency and flexibility, is suilciently stiff and rigid forthe purposes of the game. The transverse bracing strips, in addition toreinforcing and giving the desired stability to the blade, form anextension of the handle, enabling the racket to be gripped in variousways and used with greater dexterity. These bracing strips may be madeas integral extensions of the handle pieces and they may project agreater or less extent than shown, depending upon the stiffness of theblade 'material and other features, so long as they impart the desiredstability to the blade.

What is claimed is:

1. A racket for ping pong and other games,

comprising a thin metallic blade provided with a handle, transversereinforcement between handle and blade portions of the racket and ofapproximately the full width of the blade, said rein- 8 forcementincluding overlying strips at opposite faces of the blade, the handleportion including opposed handle elements overlying the blade and saidreinforcement strips and a binding strip eX- tending about the rim ofthe blade and having its ends secured between said reinforcement strips.

2. A racket for ping pong and other games, comprising a thin metallicblade provided with a handle, transverse reinforcement between handleand blade portions of the racket and of approximately the full width ofthe blade, said reinforcement including overlying strips at oppositefaces of the blade, the handle portion including opposed handle elementsoverlying the blade and said reinforcement strips, abinding stripextending about therim of the blade and having its ends secured betweensaid reinforcement strips and facing layers on said blades having theiredges covered by said binding strip and reinforcement strips.

3. A racket for ping pong and other games, comprising a thin metallicblade provided with a handle, transverse reinforcement between handleand blade portions of the racket and of approxiimately the full width ofthe blade, said reinforcement including overlying strips at oppositefaces of the blade, the handle portion including opposed handle elementsoverlying the blade and said reinforcement strips and a binding stripsurrounding the rim of the blade and having its ends seated between thereinforcement strips, the blade being recessed to receive the ends ofsaid binding strip in flush relation.

4. A racket for ping pong and other games, comprising a thin metallicblade provided with a handle, transverse reinforcement between handleand blade portions of the racket and of approximately the full width ofthe blade, said reinforcement including overlying strips at oppositefaces of the blade, the handle portion including opposed handle elementsoverlying the blade and said reinforcement strips, a binding stripsurrounding the rim of the blade and having its ends seated between thereinforcement strips, the blade being recessed to receive the ends ofsaid binding strip in flush relation and fastenings extending throughsaid reinforcement strips and interposed end portions of the bindingstrip.

5. A racket of the character disclosed, comprising a thin flexible nonwarping blade, a rigid stiff handle connected therewith and extensionsprojecting transversely from beneath said handle over opposite faces ofthe blade and extending in substantially straight lines from the handleto substantially the full width of the blade to i'mpart lateralstability to the base of the blade at the handle leaving the balancefree to flex on a transverse axis determined by said transverse eX-tensions.

LOUIS E. BALTZLEY.

